*77 *•
A ugust,
Tuefday 4.
C H A P. II.
*the Paffage from Madeira to the Cape Verd 1/laiids, and from
thence to the Cape of Good Hope.
T A T E in the evening on the firft of Auguft, we gat
J—* under fail, in company with the Adventure. A North-
eaft wind forwarded our courfe fo well, that we got fight
of Palma on the fourth, early in the morning. This ifland
is one of the group now called the Canaries, known to
the ancients by the name of Infuhz Fortunata, one of them
being already at that time diftinguiftied by the name of
Canaria *. They were entirely forgotten in Europe, till
towards the end of the fourteenth century, when the
fpirit of navigation and difcovery was revived. Some
adventurers then found them again, and the Bifcaydns
landed on Lanzarota, and carried off one hundred and
* It is probable that not only the Canaries, but likewife Madeira, and
Porto-Santo were known to theNancients; a circumftance from which it is
poffible to reconcile their various accounts of the number of thefe illands.
See Plin. Hill. Nat. lib. vi. cap. 37. T h e defcription given of them by ancient
writers, agree with the modern accounts. .Seb, Voffius in Pompon. Melarn. ad
cap. x . v. 20. Ex iifdem quoque infulis cinnabaris Romam advehebaiur. Sane hodie
ciiamniimfrequent eji in infulis fortunatis. arbor ilia qua cinnabaringignit.- Vulgo Sa n -
cuinkm D raconis appellant.— W e have Pliny’s teftimony, lib. vi. cap. 36.
that Juba, the Mauritanian king, dyed purple in fome of thefe ifles, oppolite
to the Autolole.s in Africa.
feventy of the natives. Luis de la Cerda, a Spanifti nobleman
of the royal family of Caftile, in confequence of
a bull from the Pope, in the year i 344, affirmed the title
of Prince of the fortunate Hands, but never went to take
pofleffion of his eftates. Laftly, John, Baron de Bethen-
court of Normandy, vifited thefe Hands again in the year
1402, took pofleffion of feveral, and called himfelf King
of the Canaries, His nephew ceded his claims upon them
to Don Henry, Infante of Portugal; but they were afterwards
left to the Spaniards, who now poflefs them.
The next day at five o’clock in the morning, we palled
the He of Ferro, remarkable only from this circumftance,
that feveral geographers have reckoned their firft meridian
from its weftermoft extremity. The fame day,
being in about 2.7 deg. N. latitude, we obferved feveral
flying fillies, purfued by bonitos and dolphins, riling out
of the water in order to efcape from them. They were
flying in all directions, and not againft the wind only,
as Mr. Kalm feems to think. Neither did they confine
themfelves to a ftrait-lined courfe, but frequently were
feen to deferibe a curve. When they met the top of a
wave as they Ikimmed along the furface of the ocean,
they palled through, and continued their flight beyond it.
From this time, till we- left the torrid zone, we were
almoft daily amufed with the view of itnmerife fhoals of
thefe fifties, and now and then caught one upon our
177*.
A ugust.
Wednefday 5.